DNA evidence hooks fisherman in gun case

A Trelawny fisherman who was arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm during a police operation at his home in 2021, was convicted in the Western Regional Gun Court in St James.

The convicted man, 37-year-old Corey 'Ziggy' Brown, of Scarlet Hall in Salt Marsh, near Falmouth, was convicted primarily on account of his DNA being found on the weapon, which he claimed he had no knowledge of. In an era in which eyewitnesses fear that providing evidence could lead to them being targeted by criminals, or because they embrace the 'see and blind, hear and deaf' culture, DNA, accepted as an irrefutable science, has emerged as a critical crime-fighting tool in the police's arsenal.

Last year, then St James Police Commander, Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis, stated in an interview that when criminals run away and leave illegal guns behind, when they are apprehended there is hardly a need for eyewitnesses, as once their DNA is on the weapon, it is enough to decide that they had handled the weapon.

"We have solved many cases with the use of DNA because unlike live witnesses, who sometimes change their account of what they see, for whatever reasons, the DNA remain consistent.... once it says you were there, you were there," said Ellis.

According to reports, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, operatives from the Lottery Scam Task Force, the Trelawny Police Division, and the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch, carried out an operation at the Scarlett Hall home of Brown. During the search, they found and seized a Colt M16 rifle alongside two magazines, which contained 32 5.56 rounds and 12 .45 rounds in Brown's bedroom.

During a follow-up search outside the house, 22 9mm rounds were found. Brown was arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

Brown, who was remanded in custody, is to be sentenced on May 24.